Sep 09, 2021 5:30 PM
Brecka Putnam
CureSearch

Rotary After Hours Sponsor: Shannon Duncan


In recognition of September being Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Brecka Putnam will be speaking about CureSearch, a non profit organization focused on ending childhood cancer by driving targeted and innovative research with measurable results in an accelerated time frame.

CureSearch for Children’s Cancer has been a driving force behind childhood cancer research for 30 years. For many of those years, CureSearch (originally known as the National Childhood Cancer Foundation) acted as the fiscal agent for National Cancer Institute grants to members of the Children’s Oncology Group.

In 2012, CureSearch became a privately funded organization, no longer constrained -or supported – by a complex and bureaucratic government granting system. We seized this opportunity to examine the field of childhood cancer research and treatment, and to really understand the systemic barriers that keep new and less toxic treatments from reaching children in the clinic. We re-engineered our research portfolio to demand real patient impact from our funding, instead of being satisfied with publishing in academic journals. We now focus on projects with the greatest potential to reach pediatric clinical trials by the end of the three-year award, holding our researchers accountable to rigorous milestones while providing them with scientific and industry expertise to help ensure their research is engineered to advance into the clinic and ultimately, to the kids who are depending on us.

With our cutting-edge research strategy and industry-leading resources, CureSearch is leading the field in driving and delivering results so that all children diagnosed with cancer have safe and effective treatment options.